Detectives initially arrested the pair for a burglary in the Alltwen area of the city, after they were disturbed by a woman living at the house.

But they were then linked to the burglary at Monk's home by officers who matched their footwear to forensic evidence at the scene, WalesOnline reports.

Searches then turned up stolen property which had been taken from houses across the region, and police also discovered a photograph of one of the men modelling a watch belonging to Monk's partner - radio journalist Alexandra “Lexy” Blackwell.

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Burgled: Garry Monk

Miss Blackwell said in a victim impact statement the £50,000 burglary at their home in Killay, Swansea, forced the postponement of their wedding last December because, along with precious family photographs, their wedding rings were stolen.

She said the months after the break-in last November, which she discovered alone when six months pregnant with twins, “had been the toughest of her life”.

Llewellyn disposed of stolen items including a Cartier watch, iPhones, computers, a purse, five wallets, sunglasses, an iPhone cover, an iPad cover, a suitcase, two holdalls, a wash bag, headphones, swimming equipment and two scarves.

Ms Blackwell added that she was petrified the burglars would return and she and her husband had now put shutter doors and other security measures in place while she waits for the couple's twins to be born.

After Llewellyn and Green were remanded in custody they confessed to committing over 30 burglaries dating back to 2002.

Llewellyn was sentenced to six years in prison and Green to four years.

Samantha Davies, 38, from Cwmavon, Port Talbot, has pleaded guilty to handling stolen goods and will be sentenced at Swansea Crown Court on 10 March. Police also found a photograph of her wearing the watch.

Detective Constable Chris Grey of Swansea CID said: “From an early stage of our investigation into the burglary in Alltwen it became apparent that Green and Llewellyn were involved in burglaries across the whole Swansea and Neath Port Talbot area.

“We have utilised every investigative tool available to us to link them to unsolved burglaries – some of which date back over a decade.

“We have contacted all the victims of these crimes to inform them and in some cases we have been able to return substantial amounts of stolen property to them.”